Sunday, 29 September 2013

By coming to Los Angeles I have unintentionally extended my Summer. It's about 31 degrees C here during the day! I have also made my friend Simone, who moved here a couple of years back, very happy. She's been a little stressed writing her book, so I've enjoyed helping her out by cooking healthy, tasty meals and imagining out-there sexual fantasies (she's writing a book about sex). It's a hard life. Today, I made this brunch

I lie about it being perfect, as there was one thing missing - a Bloody Mary. But with that addition, I couldn't think of a much better one. If I had the kind of lifestyle when I could eat brunch every day of the week (I can dream), then I would alternate this with Eggs Benedict. So it's pretty good. The eggs are my mum's Polish recipe: fry a finely chopped onion in butter, covered, for about 10min, then add the eggs which have been beaten and seasoned with sea salt and paprika. Cover the baby spinach in boiling, salt water and after a couple of minutes, drain it. Toast the pine nuts until slightly browned. Squeeze the water out of the spinach and add to the pine nuts along with some olive oil. Fry for about 5 minutes while stirring. Squeeze some fresh lemon into it and continue frying for another minute or two. Serve with fresh, warm bagels if possible

Saturday, 21 September 2013

It's the second year in a row that I've ended up in Sardinia, so it's fair to say that I am a little bit in love the place. This time round, I was there for over two weeks. I went to a festival and travelled down the east coast with girlfriends. Last year it was the west coast with my ex, LT. They are completely different, both equally beautiful and in some way, magical. At least to me

One place I do not love in Sardinia in Cagliari. It's a large city in the south. There is nothing wrong with it per se, it's simply a bit underwhelming in comparison to the rest of the island. It is nevertheless where we ended up having the best meal of our entire trip, in a weird, little, kitch restaurant full of locals

It was recommended to us by Alberto, our host through Airbnb. It's always fish and it's always cheap. You eat what they give you, no menu. For a person who doesn't particularly enjoy making decisions and loves all food, like myself, it's heaven

I could take you through everything we ate, all the different types of fish and seafood, finished off with sweets, mirto and limocello, but as it is different every night, I think it would be quite pointless. Also, having returned from Sardinia last night, I have found out the my second beloved gran (the only one left) is not well, possibly on the way out, so I need to fly to Poland today. I'm writing this in the one hour I have before I go to the airport again, therefore I do not have time to focus on the details of this meal. I hope that you get the idea of what it was like from the pictures. All you really need to know is that if you are in the area, you should come here. You need to book ahead and the meal will set you back around 30 euros per head with wine. You pay at the till at the end, no faffling around with bills and tips

Zuza Zak

Cooking is more than just making something to eat. It is a way of connecting to our planet, our past, other people and cultures… Through food, I am rediscovering my own Slavic roots, as well as exploring other cuisines from around the world. Sometimes I am adventurous and experimental, other times I keep it basic and well rehearsed. At all times, I approach the act of cooking (and eating!) with love. I write not only about food but also about life, because to me the two are inseparable